


words fail (candy doesn’t)

by maddieiswhatiam



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, But mostly fluff, F/M, Fluff, Identity Reveal, Mild Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 04:52:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17780921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maddieiswhatiam/pseuds/maddieiswhatiam
Summary: Someone is leaving candy hearts on Marinette’s desk. She is not amused.





	words fail (candy doesn’t)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Theredeyeswolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theredeyeswolf/gifts).



> Hi, everyone! I’m so excited to be participating in a Valentine’s Day Exchange this year for the ML Ship Fleet Discord! This fic is for theredeyeswolf- I hope you enjoy!

On Monday morning, Marinette opened the door to the classroom. As quietly as she could, she crept in, wincing as the hinges squeaked. Madame Bustier didn’t bother to look up from the chalkboard as she said, “Please come in and take your seat, Marinette.”

She felt the eyes of her classmates landing on her and her face heated, a blush spreading across her cheeks. She made her way to her seat in the second row and put her head down on her desk as Alya silently slid notes her way.

As soon as her head hit the desk, she jerked back up. Something hard had knocked into her forehead. As she sat up, it stayed stuck to her head. She furrowed her eyebrows and tried to look up at the offending item. Marinette heard a soft chuckle coming from in front of her, and she made eye contact with Adrien in front of her. A flush spread across her cheeks as she pulled a candy heart off her forehead. The red text on the chalky yellow background said HELLO.

Marinette glanced at Alya, who shook her head no as if to say that it wasn’t her. She sighed. One small mystery was nothing compared to whatever Hawkmoth would come up with next. She popped the candy in her mouth and laid her head back down. It was going to be a long day.

_____________________________________________________________

Tuesday, squarely on the middle of her desk, a pink heart asking her to BE MINE was already on her desk when she walked in. She narrowed her eyes as she surveyed the class. The only people in the room were herself, Nino, Alya, Nathanael, and Alix. Any one of these people could be the mystery snack-leaver. Alya would have told her yesterday if it were her leaving the candies, Marinette was sure. Nino and Alya were a couple so, if he left a heart for anyone, it was definitely not for her. And, somehow, she didn’t think either Nathanael or Alix was desperately wanting her to be theirs.

The art of deduction was something she fine-tuned on a regular basis. I mean, hello, lucky charm, duh, she thought. But Marinette was well and truly stumped.

The rest of the class filtered in and Alya wandered back to her seat from where she had been talking to Nino. Marinette grabbed Alya's sleeve and pulled her in close to whisper. “You are the finest investigative journalist this side of the Seine. I need your help in figuring out who has now sent me two mildly flirtatious candy hearts.”

Alya pulled back to laugh. “Girl, you know you are my best friend. And you know that I love you more than life itself. But...I already promised the person leaving the hearts that I would not spill a single word. At least, until they told you them self. Then, and only then, will I be able to tell you about this ridiculous amount of cute that has gone into planning this.”

Marinette's face set into a pout. Alya knew about it, and she wasn't going to tell. It's always frustrating when everyone else knows a secret and you don't, she thought. But, then again, there's that whole Ladybug secret...so, maybe I shouldn't be so hypocritical.

Adrien walked into class, sparing a glance Marinette's way. He looked from the adorably angry set to Marinette's face, the small, smug smile on Alya's, and he could guess the source of her anger. He silently thanked Alya's stubbornness for his ability to poke the bear. A petulant Marinette was about as frightening as a teddy bear.

"Hey, Marinette. What's up? You've got something on your face."

He could see her panic, hands frantically coming up to wipe at her cheeks. "What? Where? Did- Did I get it?"

He frowned in mock seriousness. "Nope, not yet. Here, let me." He reached forward and touched the tip of her nose with his finger. Marinette's eyes had tracked his finger's path, which left her cross-eyed. Adrien laughed at her expression, a pleased smile spreading across his face. Marinette refocused her eyes on his growing grin and felt her face answering in response. “Ah! There! Now it’s off. That pesky frown is gone.”

He removed his finger from her nose and smiled. “Now, whatever it is that was bothering you, I hope you can take care of it. You always find a way to make even the most frustrating things solvable- it’s definitely a skill I envy.”

Before Marinette could respond, Madame Bustier called for the class to take their seats before class began.

She sank down in her seat, still confused about the mystery of the hearts and Adrien’s actions. Marinette looked to her left to find Alya sketching out squares on her notebook paper. “What are you doing?”

She filled in one of the squares as flirting with heart eyes. “Oh, just designing a BINGO board to go with my future maid of honor speech. Look, I can already claim this one. Give me that heart.”

She took the BE MINE heart and placed it on the square. “One down, only four more until I get a BINGO!”  
____________________________________________________________________

Wednesday’s heart was a little pink heart that said THANK YOU in red letters. Marinette was feeling the opposite of thankful to her gifter- not to say that she didn’t enjoy gifts, but she didn’t enjoy not knowing. And Valentine’s Day was on Thursday- she had been at this the whole week without learning anything about her secret gift-giver.

Adrien hadn’t shown up for class today, so there wasn’t even the back of a pretty head to stare at to keep her mind off of this business. He’s so dedicated to his craft, she thought and sighed aloud.

She popped the pink candy in her mouth, sucking on it contemplatively. Just as she began her musings on the writing assignment in class, there was a loud beeping sound that was going off throughout the classroom. Everyone in class began pulling out their phones. Of course, what’s a normal day in Paris without an Akuma Alert? Marinette quickly bit down on her candy and made a dash towards the classroom door. “Uh, sorry, emergency, can’t help it when you have to pee, haha!” She bolted out of the door and into the locker room, cringing when she heard a booming coming from the streets. Tikki slipped out of her purse and into Marinette’s line of sight. 

“Sounds like whoever it is, they’re really angry. But I know we can fix this!”

Marinette nodded. “Tikki, spots on!”  
______________________________________________________________________

Standing atop the Arc de Triomphe was a man, obviously akumatized, wearing a costume that looked like a Renaissance outfit designed in dark red, gold, and black.“I am Afflictus, and you will give me your Miraculouses! The one I loved won’t accept a ring from me, but I know Hawkmoth will.”

Chat Noir spun his staff in his hands. “Ouch. Tried to propose and it didn’t work out, huh, big guy?”

The man snarled, enraged. “I don’t have time for your games, black cat. Give me the ring!” With his hand in a clenched fist, lightning shot out and shattered a nearby tree as Chat Noir dodged the hit.

“Not in this lifetime.” Spinning his staff and deflecting shot after shot from Afflictus, Chat advanced on this man.

Afflictus chuckled. “Don’t worry, you have nine. I’m sure there’s one to spare.” 

The whizzing sound of Ladybug’s yoyo sounded and she hit the top of the tower with light footsteps. “Let’s get this over with, and keep the city safe. Enough of the chatter, Chat Noir.”

“Watch the ring, my lady. It’s got to be where the akuma is.” Ladybug nodded and began to work her magic. The fight was quick. He may be a brokenhearted man with some extra powers, but those powers don’t automatically grant a person expert fighting skills.

Afflictus turned out to be a man named Louis. He had just proposed to his girlfriend, but she had said she’d needed to think about it before rushing in, and it had saddened him enough to let Hawkmoth’s akuma in. Marinette felt sorry for him- Hawkmoth’s abuse of everyone’s emotions made Paris a scary place to be on most days.

She tried to give Louis back the ring his akuma was in, but he took one look at it and hung his head in shame. “I don’t know if she’ll forgive me after this. Look what I did to these people, this city, after she told me that she had to think. I’ve become a monster.”

“No,” she shook her head vehemently. “You’re human and you’re allowed to have emotions. Hawkmoth is a villain, and it’s his actions that are monstrous.”  
Chat Noir placed a hand on Louis’ shoulder. “Go home, apologize, let your lady know you respect her decision. If she’s any decent at all, she’ll be thankful for the space, and she won’t hate you for what Hawkmoth made you do.”

“Thank you.” The words echoed the sentiment from her earlier mystery candy heart and it made her smile.

“You’re welcome. Would you like help home, or would you prefer one of us to take you?”

“I can manage myself.” He stood up, brushing his clothing as if to shake off any traces of the akumatization on his self, then set off down the sidewalk.

“Do you want to hang out for a bit?”

“Sorry, I’ve got to get back to class. It’s kind of a pain to miss so much school. Unlike Voldemort who waited until the end of term to attack Harry Potter, Hawkmoth is not as kind and does it almost always in the middle of a lesson.”

“A Harry Potter reference immediately after battle? I’m swooning.”

“Pull it together, Kitty.”

“Hey, wait-” Chat Noir said. He unzipped a pocket of his suit, reached a gloved hand in, and extended his hand. “I’ve been going through conversation hearts because I’ve been giving them to a girl I’m into at school, but. Well. This one was definitely more suited for you, and I doubt I’ll see you tomorrow.” In his black palm rested a single, purple candy heart with the text LOVE BUG.

She snorted and took the candy from his palm. “Thanks.” She quickly scanned the area and found a perfectly good boquet in a nearby trash can. Ladybug waltzed over and plucked a rose from the bouquet, brandishing it in Chat Noir’s direction.  
“That better not be a pity rose. Pity chocolate I’ll take, but that’s it."  
She laughed. “That might just be the least romantic thing you’ve ever said to me. But please take it. I feel bad about coming empty handed."   
“I’ll cherish it always. Mmm,” he said, sniffing it, “smells only slightly like garbage.” The giant smile that overtook his face was present enough. “Thank you.”  
“See you later, Kitty. Bug, out!”  
___________________________________________________________

By the time Marinette made her way back to school, her writing period was over. She checked her phone as she grabbed her backpack from where she had stashed it in her locker. There was a text on it. From Adrien!

Hey, Marinette! I won’t be back at school tomorrow, but my dad said I could have a friend over while he and Nathalie were on a date. So, I was wondering if you could bring me the notes and assignments I missed, and we can play video games?

She scrambled to her contacts screen, pressing the name BESTIEEEE and praying she would answer.

“Hey, girl, what’s up? Where’d you go?”

“Adrien asked me over to his house tomorrow,” she whispered into the receiver. 

“What? That’s awesome! Are you going to?”

Marinette thought for a second. “Yes. No. I don’t know. Should I?”

“Um, yes. You should. For so many reasons. Besides, Nino and I are going out and it’s gonna be cute and romantic. Go hang out.”

“Okay. You’re right. I’m freaking out over nothing.” 

“Yes, great. Talk to you tomorrow!”  
______________________________________________________________________

There was no candy heart on her desk on Valentine’s Day. It wouldn’t have been much of an issue, but it was the day she thought she’d know who it was. Maybe they’d be bold and reveal themself. She waited all day, but nobody stepped forward or gave her a candy heart. To say she was upset was a bit of an understatement.

She packed all her notes in her bag and headed over to Adrien’s after school. Standing outside of his house, she let out a breath. It’s just Adrien. He’s the same kind, funny person. She pressed the button on the gate. Nathalie’s voice sounded over the system. “Yes, what business do you ha-oh, Marinette. Adrien told me to expect you. Come in.”

She made her way to his room and knocked on the door.

“Coming!” she heard from inside the room, followed by a wooshing sound and a hard thud. Adrien opened the door with a giant smile. “Marinette! I’m so happy you showed up.”

She looked at his askew hair, a small red mark on his forehead, and she started giggling. “Did you just...run into the door?”

He winced as he rubbed his forehead. “Yeah. I did. I...thought sliding over in my socks was a good idea. It was not. But!” he deflected, “come on in and get comfortable.”

Marinette was setting her backpack down when a familiar beeping resounded throughout the room. She pulled her phone out of her purse just as Adrien grabbed his off of his computer desk. The bright purple Akuma Alert was so not what she needed today.

Adrien quickly switched on his TV and turned to the news. Marinette stared as the footage showed a woman in a bright purple catsuit with burning yellow eyes using those eyes to set a building on fire. 

“Um. Wow. That’s really unfortunate.”

“Yeah. I have to go, uh, get a haircut?”

“Adrien...why did you invite me here if you have a haircut appointment?”

“I...uh. I don’t have time to come up with a plausible enough lie.”

Marinette looked around for an escape route and couldn’t find one. Was this going to be it? 

A loud voice reverberated through the speakers on Adrien’s TV. “I am Supernova, and I won’t stop until I burn my way through this town and seize Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculouses!

Her mind was on panic overload. This was it. The secret she had worked so hard to keep was about to come out.

She took a deep breath and turned to Adrien. “Please don’t think any differently of me, but I need you to promise me you won’t say anything to anyone else about what you see.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked, confused.

Marinette didn’t have time to explain. She closed her eyes and she said, “Tikki, spots on!”

Adrien stood in awe, mouth agape. A wave of familiar-looking magic surged over Marinette and adorned her with her supersuit.

“Marinette, I- this is amazing. You’re amazing. And it makes so much sense, wow, well. You did, and so now I need you to trust me.”

She stopped, yo-yo poised to be thrown out of his window. “I’m confused but I don’t really have time for this, Adrien. I have to-” but she was stopped by Adrien saying, “Plagg, claws out!” and green magic waving over his body.

Now Marinette was the one in shock. “Oh. Um. Okay. I...don’t know what to say.” The sounds of screaming wafted through the open window and snapped Marinette back into action. “We’ll talk about this later, but I need to know now, will you have my back?”

He grinned, green eyes glinting with mischief. “Always, my lady.”

Supernova was taken down in battle by a well-timed hit from Chat Noir to the back of the head, and the akuma was purified before any more damage could occur. Well, after the Eiffel Tower was set on fire. But that’s normal for Paris now.

Ladybug and Chat Noir made their way back to Adrien’s room, sneaking in through the window and de-transforming.

The two teens stared at each other for a minute before Marinette broke the silence. “Oh! I have something for you! Well...Ladybug had it for Chat Noir but, seeing as you’re the same…” She rummaged around in her purse for a moment before beckoning Adrien over. “Open your palm.”  
He obediently followed and opened his hand, and in his outstretched palm dropped a green conversation heart with the words COOL CAT emblazoned in red.

Adrien looked down at the heart in his palm. He reached a hand to his front pocket and extracted another candy heart. “Marinette, it’s been me this whole week with the hearts. And I have been saving this one, but I think now is the time for it.” He set down the heart, face down.

Marinette pinched the pink heart between her fingers and flipped it over.

KISS ME.

So she did.


End file.
